Adventure Notes – The Discovery 40

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  • After a long rest at the Nightshade Inn, the party returns to the Redstone Caverns and makes their way down to the same passage that led them to the hag’s realm previously, armed with the arcane book that will imprison Krysinda the hag, if she reads it; and the party hopes to rescue Arhian’s red panda, Pabu.
  • Sindri informs everyone, that they’re about enter the dark fey; and the feywild sways to extremes; where things will be sinister and foul, and what might be normal animals are twisted, and the woods might be twisted by the foul magic of the dark fey; and to ensure to never make deals with the fey, since they usually have some consequence to them
  • As they step through – they find themselves appearing in a forest – however the party seems to have become slip as Arhian, Hartmut, Rettniss and Twilight look around and discover Sindri and Avacyn are not with them. (DM Note: I had everyone roll a D20 – separating them by odds and evens – and only Sindri and Avacyn rolled odd numbers)
  • Both parties however hear the same thing – a voice, by the sounds of it a female elf – saying:
    • “Welcome to the Darken Wood;
    • Shadow and Darkness are your hood;
    • We must be weary
    • So dance with faries;
    • Your flesh we desire
    • So dance with fire!”
  • Suddenly, Sindri and Avacyn are glowing purple in their group of two; while Rettniss is glowing purple in his group; it’s a spell they all recognize – Faerie Fire!
  • The same woman’s voice then says:
    • “Your mortality is your flaw
    • Now face the fury beneath the claw.”
  • Emerging from the trees, against both groups; two displacer beasts facing each separated team!
  • The party fights valiantly against the Displacer Beasts; and manage to wound them; but the Displacer Beasts do a number on the party; but they discover that if the Displacer Beast is struck, the shimmering briefly stops
  • Without warning, the Displacer Beasts cease existing and the woman speaks up again, saying:
    • “We shall not relent;
    • Now the hell hounds have your scent.”
  • And suddenly in place of the Displacer Beasts is a hound, whose mouth seems to have the very heart of a volcano burning inside of it.
  • The Hell Hounds wreak havoc on the party, their fiery breath proving to be damaging; and the fact they seem fully healed, unlike the Displacer Beasts the party had managed to hurt
  • Hartmut finally realizes that the voices have to be coming from somewhere; neither the Displacer Beast or Hell Hound can speak, let alone cast magical spells like Faerie Fire; he decides to leave the battle and scale the trees
  • At the other side – Sindri tells Avacyn to scale a tree, and she does; and sees the same thing that Hartmut spots in the tree – however, since attuning to the dwarven weapon, Avacyn barks down in Dwarven, which Sindri can’t understand
  • The true enemies are revealed – two driders above each party, having sensed their arrival in their woods
  • After briefly battling the Driders; the Driders call for a pause to the battle and explain that they’d been testing the party to see if they were strong enough.
  • The Driders explain that they would like to proposition the party and make a deal; that if they take care of the hag, Krysinda, who has been a bane to their existence, that they will cease fighting them and calling more creatures to battle them. With the party severely wounded, they feel they have no other choice than agree.
  • The Driders unite the party and take them to Krysinda’s cottage in Darken Wood
  • It’s a familiar cottage; the same one they’d seen before several times now (See Session 12 and Session 36)
  • The party cautiously approaches Krysinda’s cottage; they know that she’s expecting them – that they were to get rid of that which is in the temple above Redstone. They’d believed it was the red dragon, Searscale, but the truth was revealed by the red dragon and the angel, whose blood flows through Redstone, Zenafel, that Krysinda wanted the angel’s presence driven away. Arhian pulls out the book she scribed while Zenafel had possessed her and knocked on the cottage door.
  • The door swung open, and Krysinda, in the guise of the old woman she’d used before, answered the door.
  • Arhian shows Krysinda the book and explains that they searched for a presence; and instead found a very powerful weapon (which Avacyn brandishes) locked up in a room, as well as the magical book (scribed by Zenafel, to banish Krysinda).
  • Krysinda questions why Sindri did not read the book, being a wizard, and perform the ritual to banish that which is in the temple above Redstone.
  • Sindri explains that it appears to be written in an ancient language, or perhaps Dwarven, which Sindri does not know how to translate and doesn’t have anyone in the party that could translate Dwarven.
  • Krysinda invites them into the cottage and explains she wants to validate the spellbook can get rid of the presence in the temple above Redstone; the party enters and quickly spots Pabu in a cage.
  • As Krysinda reads the book; a shimmering portal opens behind her, she’s unaware; but the shimmering portal grows larger and it’s clear there’s an island, covered by a massive dark cloud; and by the time Krysinda notices it, it’s already too late – it begins to pull her – and everything and everyone in the cottage into the portal.
  • The party quickly grabs Pabu, and makes their way for the door – but the sheer force of the magical pulling of the portal – nearly pulls Arhian into it – but she manages to catch the door; but Rettniss who is behind her, slips and quickly Thornwhips Arhian’s ankle. Hartmut is able to pull them both out of the cabin, as the door slams shut – and the screams of Krysinda can be heard for a few moments more, cursing them – then silence – and a moment later, the cottage spins again – and disappears – just as it had done before.
  • The Driders, pleased with what they’ve seen, take the party and safely escort them out of the dark fey and to the portal that returns them to Redstone.